Advance Wars: Ressurect The Embodiment
by ShadowHawkX3
Summary: Nakamani and Jake have been fighting eachother for a month. Neither realizes they are fighting the other. One thinks of nothing but war while the other thinks his old friend remembers him. But that's about to change. Chapter 8 up!
1. The Last Introduction

My First AW fic... R&R please!

Disclaimer: I own nothing, except for any made up characters, obviously.

* * *

Chapter One: The Last Introduction

_The death of his son…who would've thought it? And everybody trusted him… Hawke had killed his son…_

It is one year after the death of Sturm. The Allied Nations Campaign has already ended. But far away, a man—for want of a better word—had only just found out his son was dead. Inside his fortress, he paces back and forth. He contemplates revenge on Wars World, but downs his anger beneath his anguish. He did not yet know the one who killed his son.

* * *

"That's not cool, dude...NEXT!" Jake had had enough. He was interviewing hopeful future CO's to recruit for Orange Star's forces, but thing weren't exactly going well. Having endured 14 arguments already, he lost it: "Look, you ain't got what we're looking for and you're not the kind of person people are gonna take orders from! Now get out of here before I call the commander-in-chief!"

A simple bluff, yet it worked wonders; the guy packed his bags and swore something that sounded like revenge. Jake picked up the list of trainees. "Whew…fifteen down, four more to go…" He was desperate to see the end of this.

He would have worse to worry about: the next person to walk through the door was a tall slim man who looked like a true warrior. He had grey hair that stood up in spikes and a pale face. He wore a black robe that had a gold dragon printed on the front and held a polearm in his hand.

A little bewildered by his odd appearance, Jake spoke, "Uh…you sure you're in the right place? 'Cause Yellow Comet is that way…"

"No, no…I come to offer my services to Orange Star." He had a deep voice and a small hint of a swagger. "I have Intel that might interest you as well. You see…" He sat down on the chair across from Jake, "After you defeated Von Bolt a few months ago, Black Hole supposedly fell into ruin, am I correct so far?"

"Well, yeah, but what has this-"

"Patience."

"Wait, wait, wait—at least tell me your name!"

"Nakamani." What an odd name, Jake thought, but before he could say anything, Nakamani had continued speaking: "I am inclined to believe that you are mistaken. We received reports of a Black Hole outpost that is still alive and running."

"What?" Completely thrown by this news, Jake was now paying full attention to Nakamani. "Wh-where is it?"

"In outer space."

"Oh…thank god…" Jake eased a bit; he was afraid of another war. Surely an outpost in space couldn't do any harm. His bubble of relief deflated just as quickly as it came with Nakamani's next words.

"But we have reason to believe that it should not be taken lightly. As I said, it is alive and well and has been running for quite a while, which means we can expect a full-scale assault on Wars World any second now. I would advise that you gather up your forces again, for it seems there will be another war."

Jake sat there, immobilized by shock at the news of an undiscovered activeoutpost…an impending invasion…an inevitable war… "Nakamani, how can you help us?"

"Let me join you for now. My-ah, skills must remain shadowed for now. I cannot say anything else yet."

He was wearing an impassive face; it was hard to tell what he was thinking. "Okay," Jake replied, "you're in."

"As long as it is okay with you, may I bring my colleague with me? He—IT wishes to accompany me, if you'll let him—it, of course." He gestured to the door- "Come in."

Jake sat there, wondering who it was and why Nakamani referred to the person as "it." The person that stepped inside was…the closest thing to a person it could get. It appeared to be made of several different people and was at least twice Jake's height.

"May I introduce EXB-one? He has some rather **unusual** qualities, which I hope, in due time, he may show you."

Jake stared at the monstrosity for a second and it was only with a great deal of resistance that he did not yell and run. With a tinge of regret, "A-alright…he can come too… (_Boy…if this doesn't work out, I'm resigning_)"

* * *

Far away, the man discovers his son's killer. Hawke indeed…he would pay. He and everyone else on that accursed planet would pay.

"Sturm…this is for you…my son."

He turned to the star map and located his destination on the mother computer. He orders all units to be dispatched. Wars World would pay. In the name of justice, Wars World would pay.

"_For I am the XIGA…the revenge shall be painful…this is the XIGA's word…"_

And so the fourth war had begun.

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End chapter one. Well,I tried to get the story straight in my head for months now and its finally coming out here...

R&R please


	2. After the Battle

Chapter two is up! R&R!

Dsclaimer: I own nothing except made-up chars.

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Chapter Two: After the Battle

Jake had seen worse days. But news of another war had been shocking to him. He hadn't even told the others yet.

He couldn't understand it. If Black Hole was indeed alive still, why hadn't Orange Star found out about it already?

Jake paused. He had been pacing in his office, waiting for the mission results to be given by Nell: Black Hole forces had been spotted near Verdant Hills and Green Earth wasn't responding. "If what that dude says is true, it might be worth telling everybody. But what'll I say? I can't just march in and say 'Hey, Black Hole is alive! We're all gonna die!'"

His computer chimed, signaling that he had mail. It was Nell telling him to report to Verdant Hills immediately and with reinforcements. Bring everything you can, it said. He stared at it for a second and thought about thenewly instated CO he had met only days ago. Time to testhis strength.

Jake picked up the Com-Radio and said "Yo Nak, I need you up here in my office! I got a mission for you!" Here goes nothing, he thought.

* * *

On the way to Verdant Hills, Nakamani told Jake about himself.

"I can't remember anything…all I know is that my father died the day I was born…I wanted to know why he died and so I set out as a mercenary, hoping I would come across anything about him. So far, all I have been able to discover is that my father's killer was a white man."

"Well that narrows things down," Jake interjected.

"No, I mean that he really was white…pale-faced. Legend has it he's working for Black Hole."

"Pale-faced and working for Black Hole, huh." He thought for a second. Could his father's murderer really be…? "Don't worry, Nak, we gonna get to the bottom of this!"

Half an hour later, Jake and Nakamani arrived at Verdant hills with an army of nine Md Tanks. It was all they could bring, for Andy had messed around with the engines of the tanks that made them explode after ten seconds. It took them a while to find any untainted tanks to bring, and this was all they had.

The scene was horrendous: Black Hole troops literally crushing everything in their path. Jake counted at least fifteen Neotanks.

"Aw, no…we can't win this…" Jake sighed dejectedly. "But that doesn't mean we can't try, right?"

"No, Jake, allow me to take the reins: it is my type of battle." Nakamani offered. Jake resisted for a moment. He was afraid that Nak would screw everything up, being a trainee and everything, but decided that this was a battle he couldn't win anyway.

"Alright, but be careful…I ain't gonna be the one to bury your body if you die."

"No need to worry, Jake."

"Come back in one piece, ya hear?"

Nakamani took hold. He ordered two of his Md tanks out and engaged combat with five Neotanks. Those two destroyed, he sent out one more tank and got that destroyed also. His regular CO Power was now usable, but that would have to wait, as Jake was now shouting at him for absorbing losses.

"WHAT THE HELL YOU THINK YOU'RE DOIN'?"

"Patience." Nakamani showed him a description of his regular CO Power. Jake calmed down immediately. "BUSTER! Okay…ALL UNITS MOVE OUT!"

His CO Power was now activated. The three former Md tanks he had sent off to be destroyed had attracted all the other Neotanks to one spot. All of them clumped together in one nice spot. "Perfect…FIRE!" His CO Power allowed his units fire to pierce enemy units and damage the ones behind it. Even if the Md tank got destroyed, he could still deal a whole ahem smorgasbord of damage. At the end of turn, he had lost only two Md tanks. Five remained. All Neotanks had taken major damage: none of their unit's HP was over three.

The Black Hole commander ordered a retreat.

"We've won." Nakamani said quietly. Jake stared. It was to be yet another thing to shock him for days. "They have yielded. Now…" He turned to the Com Screen, "…let us accept their formal surrender."

After a few seconds, the screen flickered, and Adder appeared. "Accept my congratulations, worm. You did well for a trainee, though I must seriously consider destroying you. I could have easily done so, yet I found it unnecessary. Maybe when you're more of a threat, worm. And Jake? Why, I never thought you would come all the way out here just to defeat me!"

"Get off it, Adder! We're only here 'cause you're wrecking this place! We ain't gonna stand for that!" Adder broke the connection, but not after giving a small snicker. "C'mon, Nak, he sucks, don't let it get to you!"

But Nakamani was not responding. He had barely registered what Adder had said, it was what he saw that made him stand there, unable to move as waves of shock crashed over him again and again. "Adder…that man…he had white skin…a pale face…Black Hole's colors…" And then it all came crashing down.

"_Ryai, don't die on me!"_

"_Esla…no…"_

"_XIGA!"_

"My father…I remember…his name was…Ryai…and…that man…he…killed…" Nakamani fell unconscious to the floor. Jake called for help.

The next thing Nakamani knew, he was lying in a remarkably comfortable bed. He heard voices around him. He knew not what they said, for he wasn't paying attention to them. A sickening pain…he felt it again. His father…Ryai. Ryai. Who was that man? His father. Adder. Esla. Xiga. Ryai. Adder. His mind was jumbled. He couldn't think straight. My father…

* * *

Far away, a man is getting ready to depart from his planet. He goes to the door. He flings it wide open. He ignores the vacuum of space and observes his outer space fleet. Battleships, fighters, megatanks—all in the form of spaceships. He falls out the door and flies to the nearest battleship. He calls a storm of meteors to his side. Seconds later, he and his fleet are speeding at one-tenth the speed of light. Wars World would pay. Wars World would pay.

"_For I am the XIGA…revenge shall be deadly…this is the XIGA's word…"

* * *

_

End chapter two. This is a story I am constantly making up as i go along, borrowing bits and pieces and ideas from many other stories. But the general idea is my own.


	3. The Belittled Romance

A review!

**MuTaNtFiSsIoN,** thanks for the feedback!

Ya, so…Chapter three…man I was stumped on what to do here…but here it is.

Disclaimer: I own only made-up chars.

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Chapter Three: The Belittled Romance 

Far away, the man finds that he is close to his destination. He orders his army to stop. He orders them to send a message to Wars World.He will rest his army for a while. He will not yet attack Wars World. Not yet…now is not the time…there is something he needs.

* * *

A few days later, Nakamani talked to Jake about what he saw that day. 

"My father…" Nakamani had only just discovered the truth about who killed his father. "…He was killed by…Adder…that man from the last battle…"

Jake looked at him: Nak was a mess. He hadn't slept for days; he had bags under his eyes and seemed just about ready to fall apart. "Dude, eat something! You're only gonna get worse unless you eat! And it wouldn't hurt to shave a little!"

"I'm sorry, Jake, I've just been—"

"—depressed and need time to look things over.' Well, Nak, ya better eat something or else I'll force you!"

Nakamani looked up at Jake; he was only worried about his health after all. "Well…alright. Get me some Sapporo Ichiban and some White Rabbit."

"What?"

"Here's the list, now go."

"What—wait! I-" But Nakamani had already fallen asleep. "I'm gonna regret this…"

* * *

At the Hong Kong Supermarket (Which had only taken him an hour to find, an hour which consisted ofdriving through a flock of chickens and doing the bull run. In a car.) he ran into Sonja of Yellow Comet. He had only met her a few months ago during the Allied Nations Campaign and while they might still be friends, Jake had a nagging feeling about her. Must be a natural thing for her to be so attractive, Jake thought. But Rachel is too. But wait a minute, what about Sasha? She had a thing goin' for me, didn't she? No, you're talking about Nell! No wait, its- 

"Hi, Jake." Jake whirled around and saw Sonja standing there with a basket in her arm. "What are you doing here?"

Jake was unable to answer, staring at this embodiment of beauty, which was currently wearing a white dress. Or was it a swimsuit? Damn you, Jake, you're a pervert!

"Hello? Jake? Are you there?"

"Wh-what? Wha-oh yeah! Uh…Sonja? Um…" Jake was still staring at this epitome of love when Nakamani suddenly appeared at his side. Nak had gotten impatient and ate teriyaki and decided to check on Jake himself.

"Jake, what is taking you so long? I thought that, given the time (which has been well over one hour) you would be back by now. What is it you're—oh…?" For Nakamani had just seen Sonja in her schooluniform. His voice suddenly becamestiff and cold. "Well, well, well, Jake, if this is what you're after, maybe I should just leave you two alone…"

Jake became red-faced and said "Sh-shut up…"

Sonja was now completely puzzled by this: Jake unable to speak, and someone who knew Jake who was, apparently, intelligent. She was drawn towards this new person…somehow, he reminded her of herself, except he was male and _very_ handsome.

Sonja made a little bow. "How do you do, sir?"

Nakamani looked at this girl-ahem, geek for one second, and then looked away. Then he said, rather indifferently, "I'm fine." He turned to Jake, "Jake, when you get back to base, make sure you're clean. And I mean it. That bathroom of yours is filthy enough as it is."

"Uh, Nak? What are you talking about?" Jake had become, if possible, even redder.

"Nothing…" And with that, Nakamani went out of the store and jumped across rooftops back to base.

Sonja looked on in awe. "Wow…you know that guy? He's so…dreamy…" And Sonja started to skip out the store.

Which left Jake standing alone.

* * *

Back at base, Nak greeted him with that same hard voice he had when he saw Sonja. "Hello, Jake. I hope you had a good time." 

"Er…well…if you mean by a good time I saw Sonja and dreamed about her, then-"

"I hate her."

"I-what?"

"I hate her. She's a regular schoolgirl with no interesting traits about her. Yes, I would even have the nerve to call her flat-chest."

"NAKAMANI! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU SAYING? SHE'S-SHE'S OUR ALLY!"

"I hate her." Jake tried to tell him good things about Sonja, many of which were PG-13, but nearly made it R. This seemed to irritate Nakamani even more.

After many long hours, Jake finally gave up.

"Look Jake, she isn't the kind of girl I like. She isn't the kind of girl I would even look at." Nakamani paused for a second. "I know that my father would have hated her for all she was worth."

Jake looked at him and saw that he was tired. It was 11 PM. Jake had given up the 'Get-loved-by-Sonja' battle long ago, but he still couldn't help but feel that there was still hope for him. "Go to sleep Nak. Just-just go."

Nakamani went without a word.

* * *

Far away, a man finds that he is still too far away to engage combat with Wars World. No matter, they shall advance again. Time is not important. All he has to worry about is-well, he has nothing to worry about. Nothing is going to stop his revenge. He commands his fleet—all seven-thousand units—to advance. One day away. That was all he had to wait. Just one more day. Wars World will pay. Wars World will pay with the blood of its ancestors. 

"_For I am the XIGA…revenge shall be bloody…this is the XIGA's word…"

* * *

_

End Chapter Three. R&R!


	4. More Than One Way To Say I'm Dead

Chapter four!  
I oughta say this now, to stop any rumors that this fic is ever dead.  
I'm being hard-pressed for time, what with all my schoolwork and everything so progress will be mega-slow. Why mega-slow? I'm planning on HUGE chapters for the last five in this story, which means that this story will probablyend at chapter nine orten. Everything is in beta (basically forming inside my head) so my story might come out completely different than I imagined it. But in the meantime…

R&R.

oh, and...

**CO Seth, **the part where Jake did the bull run in a car is hard to imagine cause you're driving down a narrow road with bulls chasing after you...and Jake's in a red car. (XD)

* * *

Chapter Four: More Than One Way To Say I'm Dead 

Not so far away, the man has found what he is looking for. The instrument that bends reality...it is all a matter of time now.

"Adder."

"Yes, master?"

"Bring the subject to me."

"Yes, master."

In the dark, there is a figure, bent over from fatigue and pain, his life slowly ebbing away. He is brought into the light. Here we see his body, rotund, but frail, his head drooping down inside his life support…

"Von-Bolt."

* * *

"JAKE!" 

Nakamani was calling him. Jake had only just woken up and was still trying to eat his Wheaties when Nakamani called him again.

"JAKE! GET UP HERE! THERE'S SOMETHING YOU HAVE TO SEE!"

Jake, deciding that it could be nothing good, went back into his bunk and went back to sleep.

"JAAAAKE!" Nakamani gave up. Let him be that way, then. Let him not know what I have to say.

He had just received a mysterious message that said:

_Come to us and we will do you no harm. Bow down to that which is the XIGA. Stand down and surrender._

Not good. Not good at all. Black Hole had finally contacted them. The war was still on. And who was this Xiga character? He had heard it somewhere before. But where?

Nakamani started to pace around his room. If this was as true as it sounded, then another massacre would happen soon, not unlike the one that had claimed the life of his father. Back then, that raid had been under Black Hole command under Sturm's lead. This time, however, it seemed that Black Hole had a new leader and was readying itself yet again for a large-scale bloodbath. But who was that leader? Xiga? Adder? First of all, who was Xiga?

He pulled a laptop towards him and logged on to the Wars World Web. He hooked up to the mainframe and gained access to the main data banks.

"Now lets see…Xiga…Xiga…where are you…?" Nakamani continued to search. He eventually found a password protected gateway. Something about this particular file. Something about this new leader. He knew it. "Let's see if we can't bomb this gate…loading up hacks…time to gate crash." It loaded up the hack, only to find his computer jammed by a virus. "Reboot!"

As the computer whirred back to life, Nakamani wondered. Something so confidential it required a virus to jam anybody who tried to read it. He continued long into the night.

* * *

After a couple hours, Nakamani finally found it. A bypass that allowed the hack to work without being detected. A few more minutes and… 

"I'm in." Nakamani looked around. There were many secrets that the government did not want published, obviously. But there was nothing like this. Secret formulas for tanks that did not use gasoline, plans for a submarine that allowed it to use the same amount of fuel whether or not it was hidden, and blueprints for an airship version of the all-famous battleship. All the plans were brilliant. To a point. For one thing, they only pointed out good things about the units. Nothing was said about how the tank could not run after two minutes, how the sub used twenty units of fuel per day, how the air battleship had only one round of ammo.

But Nakamani was looking for something else. Yes, there were a lot of files on Sturm. So much in fact, he was surprised they had not made a biography. But then he heard a voice in his head, _the CIA never tell us anything. They think we are the scum on their feet. They think we are not important enough to tell us everything._ Screw that.

He took every single file on the site and downloaded them. Soon, the entire world would know the whole truth.

But one job remained. Xiga. He searched through the file site and found only one result.

Xiga was Sturm's father. That was it. That was all there was on the site.

There had to be more. There **had** to be.

* * *

Nakamani had been searching for hours, but to no avail. After having a nice fried rice dinner, it was 9PM.He searched any site that might give some sort of reference to Xiga but without any luck. Then, quite suddenly, a text message appeared on the screen. 

_HELLO._

Nakamani blinked. This seemed oddly familiar. Maybe something he once saw in a movie. But nevertheless, it was something to be curious about.

Who are you?

_HELLO._

Who is this?

_HELLO._

The same response every time. Nakamani wondered. Before he could get his thoughts straight, he recieved another message.

_WOULD YOU LIKE TO PLAY A GAME?_

Nakamani stared. He stared at this overused, non-classic, cliched, overrated line-and yet it drew his curiosity all the same. Knowing what would happen, knowing that he might be falling for a trap, knowing with all his heart that this was wrong-

He pressed the reboot.

The familiar buzz, the beep, the load-up screen...

As Jake kept snoring on in his bunk, Nakamani stared at his computer screen. For a moment nothing happened. Then-

_TRYING TO HIDE FROM ME?_

And again it came. He stared at these words for a whole minute. Soon after-

Who are you?

_THAT IS NOT RELEVANT. YOU ARE NAKAMANI OF ORANGE STAR, ARE YOU NOT?_

Yes. But tell me-just a wild guess-but are you from Black Hole?

_CATCH ON QUICKLY, DON'T YOU?_

Pause.

What do you want?

Another pause. Nakamani was wondering who it was. They were from Black Hole, they said so. But something wasn't right. This was, at best, someone he could describe as different. If it was Hawke, it would have consisted of "youunworthy sentient." If it was Lash, it would have been "you big-face jerk!" If it was Adder, it would be "you useless worm." Frankly, no Black Hole CO he had ever seen ever used the word relevant and spelled it correctly, apart from Sturm. It had to be someone new. He could tell that much by what someone said. But if there **was** someone new, who was it? There was one possibility, and that was-

_JOIN ME._

What?

_JOIN ME. WE SHALL RULE THIS PATHETIC WORLD._

No! What the hell are you thinking? It is as if you can just come up to me and start asking me to be allies with you!

_WHICH IS EXACTLY WHAT I AM DOING. LISTEN. YOU WANT THIS WORLD TO BE A BETTER PLACE, DO YOU NOT? YOU WANT TO RID THIS WORLD OF EVIL, DON'T YOU? YOU WANT TO DESTROY ALL THAT THE MURDERERS HAVE DONE, ALL THE SERIAL KILLERS, RAPISTS, GREEDY BILLIONARE PIGS, ALL THAT THEY HAVE DONE-YOU WANT TO END ALL THIS, DO YOU NOT?_

Well-yes, but-

_THEN COME JOIN ME. JOIN ME, AND WE, SHALL CLEANSE THIS WORLD. THE WORLD WILL BE FREE OF ALL THAT THREATENS IT. THIS WORLD IS MADE BY THE PEOPLE THAT DARE TO TAKE ACTION, NAKAMANI, IT DOES NOT CRUMBLE TO THE SMALL-MINDED. JOIN ME AND WE SHALL SHAPE THIS WORLD INTO THE PERFECT SYMBOL OF HARMONY..._

How cliche. How so utterly cliche. The bad guy was asking him to join them. And yet, it was terrifying...it had moved him, and he was stumbling in shock at why he was actually considering it. Harmony...he would be able to avenge his father...

Who are you?

_THE ONLY FRIEND YOU CAN AND WILL EVER HAVE. I CAN BE TRUSTED._

You can? Huh. So isn't itironic that you're from Black Hole, asking me, an Orange Star CO, to join you and **trust** you on your word?

Well he wasn't going to stand for that. A jackass he may be, but still...

I'm not going to join you because you asked me to.

_SO...YOU REFUSE-_

I refuse to take you up on your offer.

_SO BE IT, THEN..._

But I **am** willing to come of my own. I'll come becauseI want to, not becauseI was asked to.

_THE LITTLE FOX ALWAYS BETRAYS HIS FRIEND. SO BE IT THEN. YOU ARE AMONG US._

Nakamani stared. He did not feel at all sorry for what he had done. A plan, fermenting in the depths of his brain, had come to a boil now. Whatever they had planned would not come to pass. But, unless he was speaking the truth...

For now, he would keep his eyes open.

For now.

End Chapter four.

* * *

Hoo boy...this chapter took me a week to finish. Schoolwork is really killing me these days.

REVIEW PLEASE!


	5. Infection X Defection

A few minutes after I wrote chapter four, it felt a little awkward to me.  
I will try and explain in this chapter, although I may not (and probably won't) be able to.

Chapter Five, R&R!

* * *

Chapter Five: Infection/Defection

The man has what he needs…

"Sturm…my son…you will be back among us soon…"

* * *

_Infection_

It was ten in the morning. Jake was up eating breakfast when Nakamani staggered through the door. Jake barely looked up and did not completely register his friend's appearance. "You up yet?"

Nakamani looked at him. If only he knew the secret he was keeping from him. But not right now. Now was the time to make amends. "Listen, Jake, I'm sorry about what happened a few days ago, I shouldn't have-"

"No, it's cool man. We're even. We're even…" Jake looked at Nak and saw that hisfriend's appearncehad changed. "Nak? What's up with your hair?"

"My hair?"

"Yeah, it's all…dark and long now."

Nakamani ran his fingers through his hair. Where a spiky grey hairdo once stood, a long mane of dark, night-sky black hair fell down to somewhere around his torso.

"And your eyes…they ain't grey anymore…"

Nakamani grabbed a mirror and looked at his face. It was as if he had gone through a transformation: his hair had turned a dark, metallic color, his eyes as black as a storm cloud. His robe was as black as ever, but the golden dragon on his front had turned blood red…

He ran back to his room and looked for his weapon, a polearm. There he found it, on the wall. Except it was no longer the polearm he had when he came to Orange Star. It was a spear, a staff attached to a circle with one quarter of it chopped off, a hole in the middle with ridges on the edges, forming an upside down Greek letter. It was not a polearm any more… it was the Omega spear.

"No…this-this isn't me!" Nakamani ran out of the room.

Nak? Yo, what-wait, where you going?" Jake called after him. Nakamani kept running. He ran out of the Orange Star base, ran and ran until he came to a cliff that stretched over the sea.

He couldn't remember anything-who was his father? Ryu. No, Ryan. Oh, it was Xiga! NO! It couldn't be! Who was his father's killer? Snake. Something to do with snake. Poison? Addition? Something! Ryai! No, that was…someone else. He didn't know anymore…

He couldn't remember anything. Nothing at all…

"BLACK HOLE! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME?" He yelled at the sky. "ALL MY MEMORIES ARE GONE! ALL OF ME-EVERYTHING I KNEW IS GONE!" He gave a great roar, and then as if to fly, he jumped off.

The wind whistling in his ears…the blue waters above him…thepale sky below him…the rock face to the side…

He closed his eyes.

He dreamed a thousand dreams in a minute…

He was riding on a gold dragon over a blue ocean, surrounded by a white sky…then the dragon became nothing but a skeleton, and still it flew, the waters turned red and the sky turned black…

He dreamed of a field of sunflowers surrounding him in a sea of yellow, a cloudless sky…the flowers turned into skulls, the stems into the spears that impaled them, the sky bore clouds…the skulls became ashes, the spearsbecame lashes of fireand blood rained upon the world…

He dreamed of all his friends, Jake, Sonja and all the others he had ever met and was filled with a happy feeling…a feeling that suddenly turned to disgust and rage, and killed them with his bare hands…he felt nothing save for the dissatisfaction of having to kill an easy target…

Evil filled him, every single dimension of him altered, all his old self gone.

* * *

_Defection_

The next thing he knew, he was lying in a bed. Now, he couldn't have that. He got up. A second later, he was paralyzed by a thousand volts running through his body.

_They won't let me go. I must get-up-_

Ready for it this time, he stood up again and was able to disperse the energy outside his body. He somersaulted backwards and onto the floor. He ran. Alarms ringing in his ears, people yelling about an escaped subject. Running down endless corridors, each seeming even vaster than the last one. A great room, filled with planes and copters-the hangar. A wide hall, an open door-an exit!

But even that was cut off by a small platoon of mechs, now charging towards him, shouting things he did not understand…He saw a gun.

_I don't know why I'm here, or who they are. But I know they want to hurt me._

A soldier fired. It missed the subject by mere millimeters.

_I must defend._

Pity them. The subject dashed to the hangar where the soldiers followed him. He clambered onto the nose of a nearby fighter and ripped off the propeller. He then jammed his fist into the center of the propeller, making himself a weapon of sorts. Not his kind of weapon, but it would do. He then ripped out the pilot's cockpit window. A shield.

The soldiers called out to him. They fired at him and, had it not been for the shield, the subject would have died. But the shield held, and the subject was now running towards the guard, weapon raised. As soon as he got close, he decapitated the first one, sliced the second one in half and impaled the third one. Ignoring their screams, the fourth and fifth he crushed to death with his shield. The sixth and last remained.

The sixth stood there, gun raised, shaking. The subject looked at this one for a second.

This sixth soldier was smaller than the rest. It had a lighter build and was struggling to hold up its weapon.

Suddenly, the sixth soldier fell forward and started screaming at him. He could not understand what the soldier said, but he knew whatever it was, it was begging for mercy.

The subject made a move towards the soldier and it jumped. He took off its helmet and found-a young woman.

_How cliché. How utterly cliché. Kill her, now._

But he could not. He could not kill her. He could see from her eyes that she clearly did not want to be here. She did not want to be here, working as a soldier. She was forced here…

The subject looked even closer and saw that the girl had tied her dark hair in a ponytail, had a moderate tan and a touch of…something. Perhaps she was Korean. She could not have been older than fourteen.

_KILL HER! KILL HER! KILL HER!_

_No. No! NO!_

The girl had collapsed. The subject looked around. He bent down and felt her head. It was cold, but sweating. Probably from too much paranoia. The subject relieved himself of his weapon and shield, bent down and started to carry her.

Elsewhere...

On the security camera, Adder watched. He watched the scene over and over again, seeing the subject kill the soldiers, but sparing the last one. How weak. That would have to be ironed out, but otherwise, he was perfect. So perfect, in fact, that Adder felt a little jealous of him. Nevertheless…

Adder picked up his iced-tea and sipped. "Welcome to Black Hole, Nakamani."

End Chapter Five.

* * *

Awbidaymn. I did this in like, what? One hour. I think this is enough for now.

Waiting for reviews….they're pretty much the only thing that keeps me writing.


	6. Allegretto

Somehow, I feel like I've been drifting away from the main point of the story. You guys might be asking, where's EXB-one? He was only in chapter one!

Sorry, guys. This is where I'm gonna get serious.

R&R!

Disclaimer: I own nothing except for made-up characters.

* * *

Chapter Six: Allegretto

Something is sleeping within the rooms of Orange Star HQ. It feels something coming…a war? Or a misunderstanding? Something else…is missing. Or else there, but no longer here. The door is not locked…but it does not move.

On the continent of Yellow Comet, there is a mountain that stands high above the rest. A beast sleeps…but it has been drifting towards waking for some time. There is tension in the air. The stone that imprisons the beast has begun to wear.

Deep within the lake of Blue Moon, a creature feels that something is amiss…not as it should be. Something is out of place. The surface ebbs and flows, but the creature's mind is not rested. The waters are free, but the mind is not.

Underneath the Green Earth HQ lies a secret. It is a secret that has been kept for too long. Much too long…it has been growing more aware of itself. It grows aware of an inevitable…something. Something that spurs its purpose to wake even more.

* * *

"_I commend you for your work, Adder. Not many can erase a man's memories that quickly."_

"_It is but my obligation, lord, one I intend to fulfill."_

"_Indeed. Go to him and see if he recognizes you."_

"_Yes, lord…"

* * *

_

Nakamani was lying in a bed yet again. Had it been a dream? Where was the girl? Was she safe…?

No. He must not think this way; it was not natural. He should have killed the girl.

Another part of his mind said he did good sparing her. Who was that girl? She looked awfully familiar, but he couldn't place his finger on it.

He heard a door open on his right and turned. Through the door came a pale-faced man wearing black clothes. He had purple hair and sunken eyes. Nakamani thought he saw him somewhere before. Perhaps it was all just a strange dream. The figure spoke, but not in anything he understood. He then put up a puzzled look, as if to say "why can you not understand me?" The figure started yelling at him.

* * *

"Worm! You there?" Adder waited for a response, but the subject merely looked at him. Adder put on a puzzled face. "Worm!" Still nothing. "I KILLED YOUR FATHER! I KILLED YOUR FATHER!" Still no clue. With a look of disgust, Adder stormed out of the room.

"Not a clue." Adder spoke to himself. "The machine worked a little better than I expected. I didn't count on his literacy rate to bomb, but…"

Adder paused. "We've got a new man on our hands." Realizing what this meant, he returned to the room.

* * *

Nakamani felt a little annoyed. That man seemed a little hostile, yelling and all that. He should rip his neck out when given the chance.

He saw the door open yet again, and in came the same man who had yelled at him a few minutes before.

Nakamani lunged at his neck, but missed as the man side-stepped. Next thing he knew, he was being held down to the ground with a 170 pound weight. His back to the ground, he looked up into the face of his captor. Again, he was talking in the words he did not understand.

But little by little, it came back to him; some words he had heard before, some words here and there. He began to piece together some words:

"Off…"

"What's that?"

"Off…me."

"Looks like the worm can talk."

"Get this…off me." A little surprised by this, Nakamani kept talking. "Hurt…get…this…off…"

"A hundred-seventy pounds and it hurts. Tsk tsk…" The man did the exact opposite and added 80 pounds on. He squatted down and looked Nakamani right in the eye. "My name is Adder and I will be your caretaker. There are only three rules: do what I say, do what my boss says, and don't run away. If you fail to follow any of this…" His fingers lingered over the buttons that controlled the weights. "…you'll see."

With a small snicker, he lifted the weight off and stood him up.

"Now get to the kitchens, maybe we'll have some use for you."

* * *

"_He is beginning to understand us, lord._"

"_Indeed he is. But, why send him to the kitchens?"_

"_He is of no use to us as he is now, my lord. He must redevelop first. The wipe took away a lot more than just his memories."_

"_Do not fail me, Adder…"_

"_I will not."

* * *

_

"Sir?"

Jake turned around and saw a junior officer at his door. "What is it?"

"Sir, we have a news update!"

"Tell me. Any word on Nak?"

"N-no, sir, but there is something you should see." The junior opened the newspaper he held and began to read: "On January 21st, a Yellow Comet CO has gone missing. On January 25th, people begin to notice their pets behaving strangely. January 30th, an unidentified flying object was spotted in the upper atmosphere. On-on February 14th," –here he took a deep breath and steeled himself- "the death of fifty soldiers by an unknown cause. On February 15th, sixty-seven soldiers drop dead on unknown means. Today on-on-"Here, the junior couldn't continue.

"That's enough…dismissed." Jake turned around again and looked at the wall. On the wall was Nakamani's weapon, which had been left behind during his mad run. Where was Nakamani now when you needed him most?

First his disappearance and now all this…it was enough for one man to bear and break his back doing so.

Jake had begun to exit the room when he noticed that the weapon had begun to move. He stood very still, wondering what it might be and tensing himself for what might happen.

The spear lifted off its hold, held itself in the air for a second, and then crashed straight through the roof into the sky.

* * *

Jake ran at it and looked up into the newly formed hole. The spear continued into outer space, where it disappeared.

"Focus, boy, focus!"

Nakamani was trying as hard as he could. Under the instruction of a…man made of steel, he was trying to control his mind and bring it under his command. Something hard to do, since we only use ten percent of our brains.

Almost…almost…there!

Nakamani heard a crash and there was a weapon lying at his feet. The weapon looked like a spear, except the blade end was shaped like an Omega symbol. He did it.

"That's it boy…use your mind, and the world will bow before you!" The steel man showed him to his room. "Nakamani, you've done well for someone who has only been here for a month and thus, I would like to reward you."

Nakamani looked up. This man was a complete opposite from Adder: He didn't even look human, and yet he was kinder than the kindest human. Even though Adder was his subordinate, he didn't share any of the traits he had. Had he his real memories, he would have thought it troubling, but nothing came to his mind save the anticipation of his gift. He picked up his spear and followed the man to his room.

"Hold out your hands." Nakamani did so and felt something rectangular hit his palms.

He looked at it and saw that it was a white…box? It had a screen on top of a dial that had strange grey markings on it. One looked like a triangle, another like a square.

"What is it?"

"This is…an iPod. It is from my travels around the universe. I picked it up on a planet called Earth. It is my type of place; filthy and crawling with greedy businessmen. I was sad to see it go."

Nakamani put the headphones on and turned the odd instrument on. Rock music immediately came to his ears. Suddenly he felt angry and wanted to lash out at anything in his sight.

But then the techno came and along with it, a desire to just get up and start running.

Classic was next, bringing a calm mind and focused eye.

Country arrived with an active beat, making himwant to dance.

Then the heavy metal came on, and it was as if all hell broke loose inside his head. He liked it.

The man watched him intently and after a while, took him by the hand and brought him to the war room simulator.

"Time to see whether it was worth getting you this…gift."

* * *

"_My lord, don't you think the iPod is a bit much?"_

"_Calm yourself Adder, we need only play this charade for a few more days. The iPod is of a…special sort."_

"_I just don't see what's going on, my lord. You want me to treat him like a brother (which, coincidentally, I hate) and then you act all nice around him."_

"_ADDER! Must I remind you who is in charge here?"_

"_Oh-oh nonono lord, I'm just-sorry my lords-"_

"_No matter…tomorrow, he shall see the meaning of war."_

End Chapter Six.

* * *

Chapter six is done! Whoo boy. Just four more to go. I need ideas...


	7. Adder is Lovesick? Part One

Well, it's Chapter 7. I gotta finish this story soon, the rest of my schoolwork is ganging up on me. Ah well...the show must go on.

Disclaimer: I own nothing except made-up stuff.  
R&R

* * *

Chapter 7: Adder is Lovesick? (Part One) 

_"ADDER YOU IDIOT I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU TO TREAT HIM LIKE A BROTHER! NOW WHAT ARE WE-"_

_"I HATED MY BROTHER! YOU TOLD ME TO TREAT HIM LIKE I BROTHER SO I DID JUST THAT AND HE-"_

_"NO EXCUSES! JUST GET HIM BACK!"_

* * *

Nakamani looked out at the sea below him. He wondered how he got into these things. After beating his master to a pulp in the War Room, he and Adder just starting fighting and then this happened. It was just one fight after another in Black Hole. 

Lets see...it began when he was killing his master at the war game...the iPod he was given seemed to help...it certainly gave him an attack boost when it played rock.

* * *

"NO! The megatank!" The master was...worried, to say the least. He had become easily outnumbered and the "Neotank Gang," as was invented by Nakamani in the middle of the battle, was closing in on his remaining troops. His CO meter was full. He'd been saving it for a better time, but now seemed to be a necessity.  
"That's it...NO MORE MR. NICE GUY! METEOR STORM!" A shower of meteors fell from the sky and damaged ALL of Nakamani's units for four points each. 

"...Powerful." Nakamani aknowledged the damage the CO Power had caused. "Although I'm more surprised that you said 'no more mr. nice guy.'" His CO meter was full. He could use it now, but the master's units were out of range.  
"One turn is all you have, master. Try and run." Of course, if he DID use it, he took a gamble. He would play any random song on his iPod and max out the volume. Whatever song came up affected his battlefield performance. Five ways to win.

The master looked around. None of his units could outrun the "Neotank Gang." He sighed. This guy was a real piece of work. "I...skip my turn."

"MEGAJAM!" A little roulette...then...  
"ROCK!"  
As **Grey **by Yellowcard was pounding in his ear, he ordered all his Neotanks to close in for the kill. It didn't matter that they had only six hitpoints left. Rock doubled their power.  
"Victory by rout! I win again, master!"

"Again..." Master sighed.

"So that's, what, the 55th time?" Adder smirked in the doorway.

"Shut it, Adder." The master got up and congratulated Nakamani. "Well now, I'm impressed. Not many a soul see my army and live to even talk about it. But you...you're a godsend, boy!"

Adder still kept a sly smile. It was only when master excused himself from the room that Adder changed his smile into a frown. He'd been jealous of the worm (more like a nightcrawler now) ever since he'd been given CO status. He was intent of getting shot of him ASAP. But how to do it? One thing was for sure: with Nakamani under Xiga's protection, he'd have no way to even go within ten feet of him.  
Then again, Nakamani was "reborn." That is to say, born again without any of his former teachings,he lacked enough common sense, at least for the moment. If he was allowed to develop any further, nothing would stop him at all.  
A plan on the edges of his mind had now come into the light. He knew what he had to do. It may have been out of self-want, but he didn't care that his master needed Nakamani.

"Looks like I can't call you 'worm' anymore, huh?" Adder looked at Nakamani and almost had the desire to shoot him.

"What do you want, Adder?"

"Oh, I don't know. I want you out, thats for sure."

"Revealing your intentions to me in the open, huh? Bold. Stupid but bold."

"Shut it. I want to show you something."

"Oh?" Nakamani became cautious. Adder hated him and anything he had for him could mean nothing good. Then again, he might as well throw caution to the winds and kill him on the spot.

Everyone knew they both wanted to kill eachother. Nobody actually thought they could come close.

* * *

Jake sat at his desk, half-asleep. His army had consisted of 10,000 units a the beginning of the war. Now, with a few retreats under his belt, he had only 15 units left. Damnit. He couldn't even build a factory. 

Black Hole had been constantly sending troops from outer space. It seemed as if there was no end to the invasions. They were outnumbered, outsupplied, outgunned. Morale wasn't very high either. Captured soldiers were supposedly cut up and left to bleed to death. A bloodbath...

For some reason, many of the soldiers just seemed to drop dead. Another one of Black Hole's tricks, Jake thought.

The last battle had been especially devastating. A whole gang of neotanks had come up from behind his troops and crippled most of his sqaud before he had a chance to flee. Something very odd had happened as well. A shower of meteors had come from the sky seemingly out of nowhere, evidently trying to stop the neotanks' progress. Even though it failed, it puzzled Jake nonetheless.  
Maybe it was Green Earth finally answering his distress call. He'd thank Eagle later.

Just how he was supposed to do this mission solo, he had no idea. He couldn't believe it...it was a full-scale war and he had offered to do it ALONE.  
Not enough to have won the Allied Nations campaign, huh?  
At least he had the sense to radio for backup. Speaking of which, itshould have been arriving any minute now...

* * *

"You see, there's this...girl..." 

"What?" Adder was bringing him out here to talkabout a girl?

"Uh, yeah...you see, she's..."

He didn't have to finish. "So you're just shallow. Well, I don't know too much about girls, but you definitely don't want to piss them off."

"Way to put it bluntly, nightcrawler."

"Is that my new name? I thought it was 'Nakamani.'"

"Shut up, nightcrawler. I might respect you, but that doesn't mean I don't want to kill you."

"Your point is...?" _Although I think I'm beginning see what you're up to..._

"Get me this girl. But don't let her get attracted to you." _Astute observations, nightcrawler. But she's mine. Don't even think about stealing her._

"What's her name? They like it if you know their name." _I won't steal her. But she might be attracted to me. Not my fault if Inever wanted her._

"Sonja." _She's hot. She's mine._

_Whatever you say..._

End Chapter Seven.

_

* * *

_There ya go. A couple more chapters...  
Now updating profile... 


	8. Adder is Lovesick? Part Two

Chapter 8.

It has been a while hasn't it?  
You'll notice that chapters 8 and 9 will be replaced, because they make absolutely no sense at all.

Bear with me folks...  
R&R.

* * *

Chapter 8: Adder Is Lovesick? (Part Two) 

_6:50 AM_

It was morning the next day when Nakamani found a note on the table next to his bed. It read:

_Take heed, Nakamani. You aren't meant to be here, and I realize that.  
What happened a month ago showed me what you truly were, and I know that you could never be a Black Hole CO even if you wanted to.  
You don't belong here. I will try to get you out of here as soon as I can.  
Remember, nobody knows who I am or who you really are except for me and few others.__  
Destroy this note as soon as you read it._

_An old friend._

Of course, Nakamani had no idea what it meant but he couldn't help but puzzle over it.

If he wasn't meant to be in Black Hole, then where did he stand? On Wars World with Yellow Comet or Orange Star? Or was he destined to wander indefinitely?

Who was this "old friend" whom he supposedly knew? And what was that thing that happened a month ago? That pleasurable massacre?  
Well, at least he remembered that.

He thought long and hard about it. If he used this right, he could run away. But the idea of escape...did he want to?

After two minutes, he made up his mind. He got up and burned the note using a cig lighter. It was true. He did not feel like he belonged here when he really thought about it.

Always, in the back of his mind, there was something that made him think something was wrong. He'd pushed that thought aside until now, when it mattered most.

And yet...Adder had become a rival in his own respect, always fighting against him for control and power, yet he was a companion, something Adder had never had before. Nakamani had been able to hold his own in their last few battle sims, but there was one time when Nakamani came infinitely close to defeat. Adder could have finished him off then, but for some odd reason he held back. Nakamani won, but the victory came with a feeling of uneasy suspicion. Did Adder somehow look out for him, like he would a brother?

There soon came absolutely no pleasure in his triumphs, and he started to pine for the outside world.  
He thought he could remember a world he once had, a life he once lived, but every time he got even a wisp of the idea, they fled like dreams from a waking mind.

Was it possible? Was there an end in sight?

_

* * *

_

_8:42 AM_

Jake wanted it to end. This war had come too far. Reinforcements had indeed arrived...right after they had been ambushed by Black Hole mechs.

Now they didn't even have a decent strike force. Seven infantry units, one recon and a tank.  
They were done.

Jake was sitting on the Orange Star tank in the middle of a forest. To the left of him stretched a massive plain where the sun rose, bringing the morning. To the right of him was an expanse of trees and plant life, dark and shaded from the sun's rays. It was here that Jake tried to figure out how to survive.

That was two days ago. Now the trees are all burned and cut down, the sky an ominous red and the grassy plain a barren wasteland. Today, here is where Jake tries to figure out how to escape.

It is too late, however. There is a rumbling heard in the distance, and Jake turns his head towards the horizon.  
Like zombies, the Black Hole Neotanks have come to finish off the last of the survivors. Weary from fatigue and exhaustion, Jake orders his men to stand steadfast and hold their positions. They would not die running away, but go out putting up the ugliest fight they could.

As the tanks draw nearer, Jake silently, and with great sadness, slowly takes off a dog tag he has been wearing for the past few weeks. He looks on the back of it and reads the name Nakamani Archa.  
"Wish you were here, man. Wish I had a chance to kick your ass in a sim." He held the tag tightly in his hands as he watched the tanks come within firing distance.

Here it was. The end. Jake readied himself as the cannons got ready to fire and braced for the intial impact...

* * *

_7:12 AM_

Nakamani had already eaten breakfast when Adder came into the room.  
"So?" was the first word Adder spoke.

Nakamani looked up from his laptop and answered "So what?"

"Have you found out anything?"

"Um...I haven't seen her at all these past few days. You said she'd usually be around the hangar--"

"I did, didn't I? Look harder, nightcrawler." Then, as if on the spur of the moment, Adder said "Oh, there's something in it for you if you do this, you know."

"Is there? You didn't mention it the last fifteen times we spoke about this."

"A promotion."

Now Nakamani's interest was piqued. A promotion? After only a month? That was unheard of. For a moment, he was excited at the idea, but remembered his newfound goal and relented.

"Sorry, but I'm not interested in that."

"Not interested!? What the hell is this? We had a deal!"

"Deal? We made a deal?"

Nakamani chuckled as he watched Adder's temper rise, but something wasn't quite right. There was something different in the way Adder behaved recently. What would have made him sneer a few days ago turned him into a raving lunatic today. Adder got upset, sure, but angry? Rarely.

"Dude...what the hell crawled into your sleeping bag?"

"DON'T TALK TO ME THAT WAY!"

"I'll talk any way I want, Adder. You've lost a little face with everyone, you know that? Your little obsession has become so obvious, even Wars World knows about it."

It was fun to watch Adder get flushed in the face, but Nakamani made sure to keep him just out of arm's reach.  
Then he figured it wouldn't matter if a bullet got him anyway.

To his relief, Adder seemed too angry for words. After a couple minutes of rather useless wall-pounding with his fists, Adder, regretfully, painfully, and with a look that plainly displayed deep hatred, retreated from the room. Nakamani sighed and returned his attention to his laptop.

In truth Nakamani had not been trying to search for the girl at all. He'd made up a number of excuses to Adder for the past few days, but he was running out of things to say. Eventually Nakamani knew that Adder would catch on, but he intended to be very far away before anything serious happened.

Very, very far away.

* * *

_8:44 AM_

Jake waited. And waited. And wondered.  
Why weren't they firing?

Time seemed to stretch into an infinity in the space of a single minute.

Eventually his curiosity got the better of him and he dared to crack open the cover of the tank ever so slightly.  
He saw, dimly, through the narrow strip of vision he had, the Neotank hatches open. Black Hole troops came out one by one and lined up in squad formations.

Jake watched, his eyes wide open now. He was totally whacked when he saw that the soldiers were unarmed.

* * *

_7:35 AM_

At this time of day, the hangar would usually be filled with soldiers getting ready to launch off into the atmosphere to do battle with Wars World. Today, however, it was empty and not a single person was to be found.

Except for Nakamani. He stood at the very edge of the hangar's edge, apparently unaffected by vertigo.

Escape...

A second later, he realized he wasn't alone. A door closed silently behind him and Nakamani knew who the person was almost immediately.  
"You. I thought you might be here."

Nakamani heard a small gasp. He heard gentle footfalls come near him.

"What? Didn't expect me?" The sound of the footsteps grew slightly louder. Nakamani could feel a presence behind him. They were close now. It felt a bit odd though; something was off, but Nakamani didn't know what it was. "I certainly didn't expect the hangar to be empty, though."

Turning around to face the other, Nakamani spoke, "You've been a bit quiet. Is something--?"

Hell, something was wrong alright. The face was masked, and the figure had a club in its hands. Nakamani had only time to register the appearance of his assailant before he blacked out.  
The person was tall, looked muscular, and had been wearing a black trenchcoat in addition to the mask. The eyes were...unthreatening, somehow. In the single second Nakamani had before he lost conciousness, he was dimly reminded that Sonja was small, thin, and attractive in anything she wore.

His thoughts didn't get any farther than that, though.

* * *

_8:46 AM_

Jake was not entirely convinced that he should step out of his tank, yet half of his body was bent over the side, craning his neck to see what was going on.

Black Hole troops were still pouring out of the Neotanks, shuffling into formations and yelling out commands in an odd language.  
At last, when it seemed as though the last of the troops had emerged-all of them unarmed-Jake fully climbed out of his tank and fell to the ground, his mind buzzing with incoherent questions. His squad followed his demeanor, relaxing their weapons but not fully at ease.

Jake stood in front of the Black Hole soldiers and cast a wary eye at them all.  
Then they saluted.

"Wh...what?"

"Commanding Officer Jake! Commanding Officer EXB has arrived!" A soldier at the frontline cried out.

Jake stood for a moment, looking dumbfounded, at a loss for words. When his voice came back to him, he shouted "Commanding Officer EXB! Report!"

A giant seemed to appear out of nowhere, emerging from the middle of the ranks and standing five feet taller than any other soldier. It dangerously resembled nothing that remotely looked like a man, but more of some twisted golem. There were stitches all over his face and hands, and the skin tone was uneven and staggered like grotesque, fleshy stained glass.

It was with great difficulty that Jake did not run from the battlefield yelling his lungs out. The man-like monster spoke.

"Commanding Officer...EXB-One...reporting...for duty."

* * *

End Chapter Eight. 


End file.
